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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897891">halcyon.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/philocake/pseuds/philocake'>philocake</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Angst, Dream too, Nightmare needs hugs, pre-apple incident</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:00:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897891</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/philocake/pseuds/philocake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's only six years.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>halcyon.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>tfw I had an idea for a more charming oneshot but dumped it for angst</p><p>anyway, yeah, just spontaneously felt like writing this. i'm getting rusty and needed to write something short. ;-;</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>His name is Nightmare. He is the guardian of negativity and protector of the Tree of Feelings and his Mother within. Dream is his beloved brother, the guardian of positivity, and they have sworn to always be there for each other. They live alone and they are happy this way. Dream is always active, always cheerful and smiling, always running back and forth hoping to find something new. He is quieter than him, more reserved, but happy to join his brother in their endless games. He spends most of the day resting or sleeping, most of the night looking up at the stars. They are happy together.</em>
</p><p>They have lived for one year. They have always been alone, alone with each other, the breeze, the sun, the moon, the stars, their Mother. Every time the soft wind blows past and makes the leaves sing and dance, they hear the distant voice of Mother. She tells them who they are. Why they are there. She teaches them how to care for the Tree of Feelings, and they always listen. She doesn’t speak often; moments with her are short, but they still listen with delight.</p><p>Their world is empty, but not silent. Birds and little critters of all kinds always come to the Tree, and they stop to check him out every once in a while. He lets them climb up his shoulder and head and chirp and chitter at him, and Dream spends all day long playing with them. When night comes, crickets spring to life and he could spend a lifetime just lying down listening to them as he watches the stars glisten up above. Sometimes Dream stays awake to watch the endless sky together.</p><p>They are always talking, laughing, playing, and life is good. It’s their world, and they cherish it. They cherish the soft grass they roll around in, the flowers they gently pick and adorn their crowns with, the passing drizzle that cools them. It’s lonely, but they are never bored.</p><p>Life is good, as long as they are together.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>His name is Nightmare. He is supposed to be the guardian of negativity and protector of the Tree of Feelings and his Mother within, but the people don’t agree. Dream is his beloved brother and they have sworn to always be there for each other, though he now spends most of his day helping people in the village. They used to live alone, but they are still happy surrounded by a flowering town. Dream is always active, always cheerful and smiling, always running back and forth through the village helping everyone. He is quieter than him, more reserved, and the people don’t like that. He spends most of the day sleeping, the entirety of the night looking up at the stars. They are happy together.</em>
</p><p>They have lived for two years. People started coming to their land, beings of all colors, shapes and sizes. A couple became a dozen, a dozen became entire families, entire families became a large town engulfing their lone fields, and the sound of nature was dominated by endless chatter.</p><p>He still doesn’t trust them. Never did, never will. Dream never saw a problem with them, though, and always seems excited to go back there and help anyone who needs it. He, on the other hand, stays near the Tree, away from them and their irritating noises. Little kids run all over the place, crushing their flowers and scaring away the little critters. They sometimes give him strange looks when they see him watching them from the lower branches. They bother him, but he has never spoken to them. Even then, he hears them. He hears them murmur things about him, things that are not true. That he’s weird, he’s shady, that he is nothing but a bad omen, that he is not trustworthy and useful like Dream.</p><p>He lets them talk. He knows it’s not true. They don’t know him; only Dream does, and only Dream ever will. He doesn’t tell Dream about that, either. He likes those people and there is no need to upset him. It won’t take them long to forget about him if they like Dream’s company so much, anyway. He’s happy for his brother, too. Dream finally has new things to do, and always comes back full of energy telling him what he’s been doing and what new things he has discovered. Some people give him books, and he gives them to him.</p><p>They hold so much knowledge. So many intriguing stories. He could read dozens in the span of a day, and still be hungry for more; they seem to have an endless supply of them, constantly making more. He still doesn’t like those people, but he likes what they create.</p><p>Things are changing, but they are still together. Life is good.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>His name is Nightmare. He is the guardian of negativity, and that scares him. Dream is his beloved brother and they have sworn to always be there for each other, but he leaves more and more often, not coming back until night arrives. He was happier when they lived alone. Dream is always active, always cheerful and smiling, though he comes back with less energy. He is quieter than him, more reserved, and people hate him for it. He spends most of the day sleeping, hidden among the branches away from people’s sight and reading. He can’t focus on the stars when night comes. They are still happy together.</em>
</p><p>They have lived for three years. The town only seems to grow, and so do the words its people use against him. Simple murmurs turned into yells and curses. Dream is away all day long, sometimes coming back for a few minutes to bring him something, and every time he leaves, several groups of people approach him. They stare at him with relentless hatred. They scream at him, they tell him that he is a monster, a devil. They tell him that nobody likes him, they tell him to go away and never return. They tell him he protects a curse, they tell him Dream doesn’t deserve him, and they throw things at him. Things that crack his skull and leave him with trails of blood running down his face, and then they leave like nothing ever happened.</p><p>They are evil. They are evil creatures, and he has to stay away from them. They still like Dream; they give him things, and he can see him laughing as he goes away with them, and he cannot beg him to stay away from them — he is safe this way. He tries his best to clean up the blood and hide his injuries when Dream comes back, because he cannot know. He would ask the people why they are hurting him, and they would turn on him.</p><p>No, he cannot let that happen. Nobody will hurt his brother.</p><p>Dream always looks tired when he comes back, his stories not as enthusiastic as before even though he looks fine and is still smiling as brightly as ever, and that frightens Nightmare. He asks him what happened when he sees his injuries, and he can only tell him he tripped. Dream always believes it, and it hurts. But if he has to lie to keep him safe from those demons out there, he will do it as many times as necessary.</p><p>There are always some people roaming about at night, but he remembers the one night an entire ocean worth of water poured on them, and they were finally alone again. The sky flashed and roared, and as fascinated as he was, Dream was terrified. So he took the flag they had used to cover Mother’s injury, all healed up, and draped it over his shoulders with the promise that nothing would ever harm him, that it will keep him safe forever.</p><p>He doesn’t know what he did to anger the town, but he must have done something. Dream never did, and would never do so — he was the one who deserved protection, and he had been happy to withstand the relentless cold of that night if it meant his little brother would sleep safe and sound.</p><p>He is afraid. He is terrified, but they are still together, so life is good.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>His name is Nightmare, more commonly known as ‘monster’, ‘demon’, ‘pest’. He is the cursed guardian of negativity and he hates himself for it. Dream is his beloved brother, but they can barely be together anymore. Dream is always active, but he seems more uncertain about leaving, and always gives him worried looks. He is quieter than him, because he’s nothing but a curse. He spends most of the day cowering, most of the night awake and motionless. He finds it hard to pretend he’s still happy.</em>
</p><p>They have lived for four years. Dream still has to leave every day to tend to people’s requests, but he never does so without waiting for him to wake up and make sure he’s okay. He only comes back at night now. He no longer tells him what he did out there; he tends to his wounds, asks him how he’s been doing, and brings him gifts. He can barely talk to him anymore, even though he tries. He wants to ask him to please stop those people from hurting him, but he can’t.</p><p>It feels like every five minutes someone walks by and throws something at him, or kicks him, or thankfully just tells him how much of a disgusting failure he is. Dream will come back to him and see his clothes dirty and slightly tattered and his skull full of cracks and traces of blood, but he stills tells him he fell no matter how much it looks like he no longer believes it. But Dream never asks further questions, and just sits there, next to him, longing the day they will both laugh together again.</p><p>He is desperate to talk to Mother again, but even as the breeze blows, she never speaks.</p><p>So he stays alone between the larger roots, curled tight and trying in vain to sleep, his books forgotten. Sometimes, a couple birds or a squirrel will visit him. Sometimes, some thug will try to kick them and then kick him instead.</p><p>He’s just glad Dream is happy out there, and safe.</p><p>They are still together. And his little brother is unharmed. But life is not good.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Dream is his beloved brother and he stays with him all day long, every day. He calls him Night or Nighty. For everyone else, he’s just a useless monster. Dream always smiles at him, but he cannot smile back. He cannot talk to anyone. He spends his whole life shutting the world away. They are together, but they are not happy.</em>
</p><p>They have lived for five years. Dream doesn’t leave now. He stays with him always, and the people don’t approach them, but they look restless and frustrated. He doesn’t care. They will come back. They always come back for him, and they will not stop until he is dead.</p><p>He hears Dream talking to him, sweet, gentle words, but he cannot listen. And he apologizes over and over again for it in his mind, but he cannot hear him. But Dream still stays with him, and he’s thankful for it. He’s thankful for those few days together, with no one to bother them.</p><p>Until the people grow too impatient, and start coming to them. They look happy and cheerful, and yet he can hear their demanding tone as they ask Dream to come over. And they do get Dream to leave, as conflicted as he was about it, and he doesn’t blame him. But then he’s back to his usual schedule, all day away, and the people are free to come back.</p><p>Their words burn deeper. Their blows hit harder.</p><p>There’s nothing he can do to escape from them. Nothing to make them see he’s not different from his brother.</p><p>Life is a curse.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>Dream is his beloved brother. He calls him Night. For everyone else, he’s vermin.</em>
</p><p>They have lived for six years.</p><p>He only wanted to prove himself. He only wanted to escape. Dream had needed to take one of the golden apples back to a dying person, and he thought that would be his salvation. He could take a golden apple too, and help someone. He was not a mindless monster. He had a purpose. He was just like his little brother.</p><p>But he killed the Tree.</p><p>He turned its fruits black, burned its leaves, withered its trunk — all because he touched what was not his. An ominous mantle turned the sky red, and everything went silent. Dream came rushing over to him. The people stared, and then they grabbed whatever they had nearby—rocks, sticks, their weapons, their tools—and marched towards him, and he knew he would die.</p><p>But <strong>he</strong> told him to eat the black apple he held in his trembling hand, and he did. He did not want to die. He wanted to be with his brother. He wanted to run through the fields again, stargaze together, smile and laugh like nothing else mattered in the world. But <strong>he</strong> said time would never rewind. <strong>He</strong> said he had one last chance to live, and he took it.</p><p>All he remembers from then on is pain. Atrocious pain, worse than anything those people could have ever done to him. He felt hatred, blind rage bubbling in his skull, seeping from every cavity in his body, burning him as it did like acid. He felt his own body crack apart as something blossomed and grew within him, he saw his little brother's terrified look for a split second, and then he was numb.</p><p>He doesn’t know where he is or what happened. All he knows is that he is alone with <strong>him</strong>, someone that looks like him, someone who has him in a reassuring embrace and won’t let go. <strong>He</strong> once told him that he would be safe. That he would be saved. That all he had to do was trust <strong>him</strong> to make his pain go away, and all his suffering would finally end.</p><p>Ever since he accepted, he has never felt anything again.</p><p>And it's wrong.</p><hr/><p>
  <em>His name is Nightmare. He was insulted and beaten for being different and wrong. Dream was his beloved brother. Now <strong>he</strong> wants to kill him and bring despair to the world.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He once asked his little brother to never forget who he used to be.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because he did.</em>
</p>
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